McNaughton, Heathe; Padilla, Karen Z.; Hernández, Emilia; de Hernández, Patricia; Ramírez, Patricia

Entre la espada y la pared: el secreto profesional y la atención postaborto
McNaughton, Heathe; Padilla, Karen Z.; Hernández, Emilia; de Hernández, Patricia; Ramírez, Patricia - 2004 - Ipas Centroamérica, Managua (Nicaragua), Ipas Centroamérica, 39

Keywords : abortion induced; clinical clerkship; health personnel; induced abortion; plaint
Countries : El Salvador

Abstract : En 1998 entraron en vigencia reformas al Código Penal de El Salvador que penalizan toda forma de aborto, incluida la interrupción del embarazo para salvar la vida de la mujer. Por consiguiente, ha incrementado el número de denuncias interpuestas por prestadores de servicios de salud de las pacientes que se sospechan de haberse practicado un aborto inducido. El propósito de este documento es presentar evidencias y análisis sobre la incidencia, los motivos y las consecuencias de la práctica de la denuncia por parte del personal de salud de las pacientes post aborto inducido en El Salvador.

Web site : http://www.ipas.org/publications/es/ELSALPAC_S04_es.pdf
Notes : Español/espagnol/Spanish

McNaughton, Heathe; Mitchell, Ellen M.H.; Blandón, Marta María

Should Doctors Be the Judges? Ambiguous Policies on Legal Abortion in Nicaragua
McNaughton, Heathe; Mitchell, Ellen M.H.; Blandón, Marta María - 2004 - Reproductive Health Matters, 12, 24, Supplement 1, 18-26

Keywords : law; laws; obstetrician-gynecologists; policy; therapeutic abortion
Countries : Nicaragua

Abstract : Nicaragua's Penal Code permits "therapeutic abortion" without defining the circumstances that warrant it. In the absence of a legally clear definition, therapeutic abortion is variously considered legal only to save the woman's life or also to protect the health of the woman, and in cases of fetal malformation and rape. This paper presents a study of the theory and practice of therapeutic abortion in Nicaragua within this ambiguous legal framework. Through case studies, a review of records and a confidential enquiry into maternal deaths, it shows how ambiguity in the law leads to inconsistent access to legal abortions. Providers based decisions on whether to do an abortion on women's contraceptive behaviour, length of pregnancy, compliance with medical advice, assessment of women's credibility and other criteria tangential to protecting women's health. The Nicaraguan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology aimed to clarify the law by developing a consensus among its members on the definition and indications for therapeutic abortion. If the law designates doctors as the gatekeepers to legal abortion, safeguards are needed to ensure that their decisions are based on those indications, and are consistent and objective. In all cases, women should be the ultimate arbiters of decisions about their reproductive lives, to guarantee their human right to life and health.

Web site : http://www.rhmjournal.org.uk
Notes : Inglés/anglais/English